UTK said not to be alarmed this morning: The campus is holding a mock active shooter scenario at the Humanities and Social Sciences Building between 7:30 a.m. and noon.

Author:
WBIR

Published:
7:50 AM EDT May 15, 2018

Updated:
1:37 PM EDT May 15, 2018

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is partnering with FEMA Tuesday morning to hold a full-scale exercise to test emergency response coordination with local authorities.

UTK said it is holding a mock active shooter scenario at the Humanities and Social Sciences Building between 7:30 a.m. and noon.

Access to the building and surrounding area, including the parking lot on the south side near Volunteer Boulevard, will be tightly controlled for safety and the parking lot will be closed all day.

People in the area are asked to be aware of their surroundings and avoid interfering with the exercise.

The university said people will likely see emergency vehicles, including fire and police crews, engaged in the exercise along with “victims” in realistic makeup.

“It is important to be careful not to unintentionally give the impression that a real attack has taken place when talking about the drill to others. This can easily happen on social media and could cause distress in our community and potentially lead to serious issues,” said Brian Gard, director of emergency management.